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~missives from a journey home.

More About Querencia

Headless Sukasana from Google Images

Hello Friend! Welcome to my blog “Seeking Querencia.” I feel honored that you found me amidst the thousands of beautiful, popular and trendy blogs, of which I am not a member. And, that is fine. Nevertheless, I welcome you here and hope to make you feel at home, if only for a while. “Seeking Querencia” is a personal journey blog and I sell no goods or services. If my blogging classes are correct, that makes little ole me the brand for this blog. If your interest is piqued, and you’d like to know more about me, you can find all the information that you ever want to know right here. I wanted to provide you some background on the site name. Against conventional wisdom from the experts who recommend the choice of an simple name, I went against the grain and chose a name that is both unusual and unfamiliar.

Initially, when I began this blog, I thought of scores of blog names. It was a frustratingly slow process, and I rejected many potential names. One day, I remembered an article that had introduced me to the beautiful word “querencia.” (For those of you unsure of how to pronounce the word, listen here.) Anyway, years earlier, during an unexpected lull in my non-stop litigation practice, I was reading an issue of “Spirituality & Health.” (Now this was only one of the many magazines delivered to my home on a monthly basis, but this was among my favorite. I’d rescued it from my “to read” stack that had become a veritable house of cards, ready to tumble at the least provocation.) My search for the article was fruitless.

As it often happens, when you are not looking for something you find it, so I was delighted when I stumbled upon the lost article. With it, I hoped to give everyone a better sense of why I choose “Seeking Querencia” as my blog name. Yes, it’s a mouthful, but for me it encompasses the feel that I am trying to convey in this blog.

While reading the magazine, I came to an article entitled “Querencia: Discovering Our Place of Stillness and Power. At that time, my life was one of constant frenzy, upheaval, stress, and my fibromyalgia pain was increasing to levels beyond which my medications were able to manage. Still, I never took the time to pause. The title spoke to me.

As I began to read the article, I was drawn in like a moth to a flame. I identified with it immediately. I desperately wanted to discover my place of stillness and it appeared that this “querencia” could help me do so.

The first sentence of the article began: “In bullfighting there is an interesting parallel to the pause as a refuge and renewal.” I couldn’t have been more surprised if the author used pig farming as a parallel to the emotional states that I sought to cultivate. Impatient sort that I am, I thought, “What the heck does abull have to do with anything? Yet, I read on.

“It is believed that in the midst of a fight, a bull can find his own area of safety in the arena. There he can reclaim his strength and power. This place and inner state are called his querencia. As long as the bull remains enraged and reactive, the matador is in charge. Yet when he finds querencia, he gathers his strength and loses his fear. From the matador’s perspective, at this point, the bull is truly dangerous, for he has tapped into his power.” ~Tara Brach, Ph.D.

One source has described the word “querencia” as “a place where one feels secure, _’a place from which one’s strength of character is drawn.’‘A place in which we know exactly who we are. The place from which we speak our deepest beliefs.’” It can only be found in your inner world, that place where most of us travel to infrequently, if at all. In this piece, the author elaborates that “[i]n Spanish, querencia describes the place for which one’s heart yearns; the place where one feels safe, the place from which one’s strength of character is drawn. The word itself comes from the verb querer, which means to desire, to want. Querencia is a place of ease and paradoxically (once we’ve landed there), of freedom from wanting.”

I choose “Seeking Querencia” because it describes, in a nutshell, the direction of my spiritual journey, my longing, as well as how I wish to interact with the world. The word “querencia” serves as a constant reminder of that which I seek to reclaim — inner peace, stillness and tranquility. I realize that there are shorter and far easier to pronounce words that I could have, probably should have, chosen, but after considering many alternatives, I repeatedly returned to “querencia.” It describes, like no other, the purpose of this blog and complements my current life intentions. I hope that you now understand the thought process behind my choice of “Seeking Querencia” for my blog, and perhaps, even like it. In any event. it might encourage you to seek your own querencia, in a manner that is right for you.

With that said, I am off to make some inroads towards seeking querencia. I mean, if a bull can do it. . . .

Corinne, Thanks so much for stopping by. I am glad that you liked the post and it sounds as though it came at the perfect time. I look forward to seeing you again, as we both journey towards finding our querencia. Blessings, Lydia

Hello Lydia, I read your touching post about your father,which led me to the explanation of your blog title. Reading the part about the bull finding the place within where he regains his strength and power was in itself, empowering. Blessings and peace to you.
Donna West Grant

Thank you so much for taking the time to read the post and to navigate around to discover the meaning of ‘querencia.’ I am heartened that you too see the breadth and depth of the word’s meaning. I’ve been told by bloggers in the know that I should change it, but it stirs my soul and so perfectly explains my journey. I am not changing it.

I know that teaching keeps you busy, but do drop by with a cup of your choice beverage and read awhile.

Hi Lydia…
your article about “querencia” very inspiring me. and i just know that i’m not the only one who seeking querencia.
honestly. till now, i haven’t found my querencia yet, even i can’t feel “querencia” in my home. i don’t know what happen to me, but this is a fact. my hope, someday i will find my own querencia and visit there as often as i can. someday…
that is my story,.. hope u find ur true querencia soon.
enjoy ur life..

Dear Dika, It is nice to meet another traveling in the same direction. The important thing is that we realize that there is something more and we strive to find it in the only place that matters–within ourselves. I have no doubt that both you and I will find what we have been seeking, our true home. Thanks for taking the time to read my page. I hope to see you back again soon. Blessings and thanks, Lydia

I was checking out the word querencia because I use it … I am safe in my querencia …. After reading an article on it in my daily newspaper and felt drawn to the word and the more I say the more grounded balanced I feel …. Thanks to your blog I realise I am on the right track … Cheers and god bless

Querencia, isn’t it a beautiful word that rolls off your tongue? I too felt drawn to the word and its meaning. I knew that it belonged in my blog title, long before I had a blog. It is great to meet someone else who knows and is drawn to the word. I would love to read the article to which you refer.

Anyway, I am happy to hear that you are on track to inner peace, a sense of home and tranquility. It is great to meet someone walking the same path. I’d love to hear more about your journey, so I hope that you will drop by again.

Thank you so much. I am happy that you dropped by my blog. I was taken by the word when I stumbled upon it the first time. I find the whole idea an inspiration and appreciate your supporT. Also, I am delighted that you were inspired by my expanded definition of “querencia.” I am moving towards it but expect the journey to last a lifetime. I hope to hear from you again. Blessings, lydia

Hello Lydia, I went looking for the meaning of querencia after seeing my friend Roman Renteria’s tattoo. He being quite the teacher I wanted to understand what he had made so personal. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I too seek my own querencia. We are on common ground.
Kind regards,
John Manford

Dear John, I am delighted that you found your way here and that my own research and thoughts on “querencia” answered some of your questions. Congratulations and well wishes as you travel towards your own Querencia. May the journey bring you much wisdom, peace and happiness.

I love to know what type of tattoo that your friend has as it relates to querencia.

Wow. I’ve been feeling trapped. Doomed. Driven by fear. I’m 60 and I now have responsibility for my ailing father and mentally ill sister. I’m afraid I’ll run out of money and be out on the street with a poorly-lettered cardboard sign…”anything will help. God bless”. And I’m in a relationship in which I don’t feel respected, nor significant. But I won’t leave cuz of fear fear fear.
So I started reading Tara Brach’s Radical Acceptance, came to the quote about querencia and the bullfight. I thought the same as you…I need to get deep into that concept. Google’d it and found your site, and then found the Brach quote! Delighted to have stumbled here.
(But doesn’t the bull always get skewered in the end??? Not sure I want to run all that far with this metaphor!)

It is a pleasure to meet you. Iam glad that the Tara Brach quote led you here. In some ways, our backgrounds are similar. I am sorry that this chapter of your life is filled with so many challenges and such stress. Yet, in spite of it, you have the strength and courage to recognize your need to seek the peace within.

The word “Querencia” has come to exemplify that state for me. I am not there yet, and each day brings me closer, but I expect it to be a lifetime journey.

May you find success on your path to realize your inherent peace of mind and home. Don’t lose hope and keep your eye trained on your own Querencia. And, it is true that often the bull is skewered but that doesn’t apply to us. First, it is that inner state of mind that we seek and moreover, we WILL be victorious.❤️🙂❤️

I invite you to come here for a place of support. See you soon. Blessings, Lydia

What an amazing word! Thank you for sharing it’s meaning and the quote. I feel like my soul or spirit has been switched on to HD. It speaks to the Christian in me, now I can finally explain the reason behind my emotional high.
I’m in my querencia.

I always like to hear that something that I write about speaks to someone in a profound way. It is rare that we stumble across those “aha” words that touch our hearts. I, too, was drawn to the word “querencia” from the moment that I read it. Not only is it a beautiful word, but the meaning ascribed to it is exactly what I’m seeking. I am delighted that you have found your true home. Blessings, ❤️, and 🙏🏽, Lydia

What a beautiful post! (I respond as both a reply here, and a comment on your blog.) As I see that you are a photographer, I assume that you took the accompanying photographs, all of which are stunning. Yet, I find the first one particularly mesmerizing, evocative, and a perfect depiction of both stillness and the present moment that is essential to achieving the stillness that you speak of, and “querencia” as an embodiment of such stillness.

Moreover, I am very honored that you referred to and called out both me and my blog, “Seeking Querencia,” that I created to chronicle my journey towards inner stillness, and my true self. I see that you, too, appreciate both the beauty and the intent of the word “querencia.” I’ve come to learn that I am on the journey of a lifetime, and that, like most things in life, stillness is only rarely realized as a final destination. Like air, both “stillness” and “querencia” areamorphous, and they are inherently so. I view that intangible quality as a constant opportunity for growth.

I look forward to reading more of your blog, as your post reminds me of the reasons that I was so captivated by the word “querencia,” and its analogy to the bull during a bullfight, all those years ago. Due to health issues, I do not post as frequently as I used to, but I hope to change that in this new year. I look forward to learning more about you, and meeting you, again and again, on my travels.

I enjoyed your discussion of “querencia” and it’s relationship to stillness. I appreciate you, and thank you for the mention.

I appreciate you and your kind comments. Long before I had a blog, I thought of one and the word “sanctuary” was among most of those titles. I’ve always loved the word and the feeling that it conveys. In the end, I choose “querencia” because of its’ novelty. I am going to begin posting on Seeking Querencia more often, like I did in the past. I hope that you will return again soon.

I grew up in New Orleans, and as a result, had many opportunities to commune with various hurricanes. I can definitely imagine that one could have an impact, such as the one that you’ve described. It is mind boggling to consider what our minds might do if used to its greatest extent.

Who Am I?

Hi, My name is Lydia. "Seeking Querencia" is a personal journey blog that I created as a means of documenting my thoughts and feelings about life, and more, after my health caused me to resign from my active practice as a trial attorney. Writing is therapy. Grab a seat, with a beverage of your choice, and stay a while. I believe that each person whom we encounter along our path, has a lesson to teach. I'd love to discover yours. Warm blessings, Lydia